Rainer Zietlow and Elric Popp set a new Guinness World Record by driving a Volkswagen ID.4 EV from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia with just 18 stops to recharge. The 4,432 mile journey took 7 days, focusing on the fewest stops rather than the fastest time. The team now plans to visit all 145 Volkswagen dealerships in Canada on its return trip to the East Coast, which will take about a month.

Coast-to-coast records in the United States have received a lot of attention in recent years, including those achieved with electric vehicles. However, Zietlow and Popp’s record trip from Newfoundland to British Columbia in Canada is different. Instead of looking for the fastest time, this record emphasizes the fewest stops, completing the trip in an electric vehicle that can travel around 400 to 500 miles between charges.

From July 25, the duo embarked on the adventure and arrived in Victoria on August 1. Pierre Boutin, President and CEO of Volkswagen Canada, said he was enthusiastic about this achievement: “Our ID.4 SUV has proven to be the perfect companion for this adventure, offering comfort, space and autonomy necessary to face the thousands of kilometers that separate the east and west coast of the country.

But your journey doesn’t end there. Zietlow and Popp are currently driving the ID.4 to the East Coast, visiting Volkswagen’s 145 Canadian dealerships along the way. This ambitious route will test the charging infrastructure in the country and will take about a month. Zietlow hopes the trip will inspire confidence in the capabilities of electric vehicles for long-distance travel and in Canada’s ever-improving charging infrastructure.

For comparison, the current coast-to-coast EV runtime record in the United States is 42 hours and 17 minutes with 24 stops. It was created in 2021 by a team that drove a Tesla Model S Long Range. The Canadian record, on the other hand, focused on fewer stops overall and included a ferry crossing. Moreover, the Canadian route is about a thousand miles longer than the route from New York to Los Angeles.

Zietlow and Popp’s Canadian charging case highlights the potential of electric vehicles for long-distance travel. As electric vehicle technology continues to evolve and charging infrastructure improves, such achievements will become more common.

Sources:
Gadgets360 – This electric vehicle has just set a charging record across Canada